1
as in ungrammatical
violating approved patterns of speaking and writing
most of the messages left on the Web site's bulletin board are illiterate
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ignorant
lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books
offered menus with pictures, presumably for the many illiterate people who must eat there
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ignoramus
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illiterate
Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 11 July 2025
They’re written in first-person, but White, who was illiterate, almost certainly didn’t write any of them himself.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
My mother lived as a refugee, as an illiterate nail tech.
—Ocean Vuong
june 4, Literary Hub, 4 June 2025
Here Vuong is inheriting a tradition from some other illiterate ancestors: his white ones.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Noun
His attorney argued in court that those statements were made in violation of his constitutional rights, saying Garcia-Gutierrez is illiterate and unable to read Spanish or English.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 11 July 2025
They’re written in first-person, but White, who was illiterate, almost certainly didn’t write any of them himself.
—Ellen Wexler, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
My mother lived as a refugee, as an illiterate nail tech.
—Ocean Vuong
june 4, Literary Hub, 4 June 2025
Here Vuong is inheriting a tradition from some other illiterate ancestors: his white ones.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiterate
Adjective
-
And in general, the A.I. bots were useful for sharpening prose and cleaning up clunky, ungrammatical sentences.—
Brian X. Chen,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2023
-
That could be useful for conversations where telegraphic, ungrammatical messages would come off as impolite.—
Tom Simonite,
Wired,
18 Oct. 2020
Adjective
-
Any suggestion that this is some kind of victory for Combs is ignorant.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
27 Aug. 2025
-
In this case, the problem is ethics in the medical profession, as young doctor Andrew Manson (Robert Donat) moves from idealism to disillusionment and back again when faced with ignorant patients who are skeptical of his conclusions, economic hardship, and crooked colleagues.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
And yet Danielle is currently playing The Traitors so poorly — making big, sloppy, conspicuous moves, alienating potential allies, and fancying herself an Oscar-winning actress while displaying community-center theatrics — that even scene-stealing ignoramus Tom Sandoval has taken notice.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2025
-
And finally, there is Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a well-meaning security guard at the Quebec Maple Association who is a bit of an ignoramus.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Then there are those who rage against their children’s accomplishments, clinging to the hierarchy agreed upon when the child was a helpless know-nothing.—
Madeline Leung Coleman,
Vulture,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Lewis’s superficial attack abets the know-nothing Trump Administration, which spurns cooperative allies and rational arrangements.—
Harper’s Magazine,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Noun
-
Who says the eyebrow and the lowbrow don’t mix?—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illiterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiterate. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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